Airwave Sport 3 (PAST MODEL)

Properties

• Hybrid Sail technology (longer lasting and lighter).
• Low stall speed - and wide speed range.
• Easy launch and ground handling.
• Outstanding Airwave quality.
• Light handling and Auto-centering' in thermals.
• Outstanding performance for a DHV 1-2.
• New attractive colour schemes.
• Remarkably Pitch stable.
• Complete sail redesign.

Evolved from the Sport 2

The Sport 2 has been one of the most successful selling gliders in the History of Airwave. Over the two years since its release it has gained a superb reputation for being both easy to launch and fly with top level performance. The Sport 3 is directly evolved from the Sport 2 and incorporates a hybrid sail and a complete redesign of the sail, giving a lighter and smoother wing which improves on its predecessor in every way with better performance, handling, pitchstability and take off.

Complete Sail Redesign

The whole sail of the Sport3 has been completely redesigned over the Sport 2 using the latest paracad software, giving a sail that is cleaner and therefore offering less drag to the airflow, and enhancing the glide performance. The openings now include curved panels on the bottom surface and are finished with soft tape giving smoother reinflation.

Safety

The Sport 3 was certified to the latest even stricter requirements for glider certification. The new requirements are so severe that a DHV1-2 must limit glider pitching to less than 45degrees following a 75% side collapse. The new Sport3 passes this test with ease, as well as offering a faultless performance in all the DHV tests.

Remarkably Pitch Stable

A glider that is pitch stable is much easier to fly and the profile of the Sport3 has been optimised to bite into thermals, and give the feeling of self centering with out being too pitchy, so that the pilot can relax even in highly active air.

Outstanding performance for its class

The DHV1-2 class is probably the most competitive of all the classes of glider. The crown for being the best performing DHV1-2 glider is always hotly contested. The Sport3 has a carefully tuned profile, and planform and the line layout has been optimised to reduce drag to the maximum. Line optimisation is a careful balancing act, between safety and performance and with the Sport 3 we must have approach the optimum. The sink rate and glide are both simply outstanding.

Hybrid Sail Technology

Airwave’s first production glider with the Hybrid sail was the Mustang in spring 2005. This concept has proved to be extremely successful and by popular demand we are now introducing it to the new Sport.

It is now well known the best cloth for durability in the paragliding industry is the 50gm/sq m silicone coated Gelvenor cloth. However this cloth is heavy putting up the overall weight of the glider. Because the leading edge of the glider is the part that always wears out first we are using Gelvenor on the leading edge, and for less stressed parts of the sail we are using 35gm/sq m Porcher Marine. For the ribs we also use two different weights of cloth on the supported and unsupported ribs, providing strength where it is required, and using lighter cloth elsewhere.
This gives the advantage of a sail that is both lightweight and extremely durable, and resistant to UV. Using this Hybrid cloth combination we have managed to nearly double the average safe working life of a glider.

‘Auto-centering’ in thermals

Have you ever flown a glider where you feel like you are being pushed out of thermals by a large unseen hand. We have been studying what causes this phenomena and turned it on its head so that now the carefully balanced pitching moment of the profile balances with the wing twist to give you a gentle helping hand to guide you to the centre of the thermal.

Pedigree Design Background

Though our new three way feedback (TWF) approach to design, Airwave has recently seen a major change in the way we design gliders. We are now using a 3 pronged design and testing procedure. Starting in spring 2005 we have been doing wind tunnel testing as well as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to study our gliders as well as the traditional full scale test flying procedures. You can see the result of this work is just beginning to show in our new gliders.

• Test flying
• Wind Tunnel testing
• CFD modelling

The information gathered from these three sources is then fed back into the design model to produce the next iteration in the evolution of the glider. The actual design is done using our exclusive in house design program, Paracad, which is in constant development, and is updated on a monthly basis.

Airwave Sport3 - State of the Art DHV 1-2 by Bruce Goldsmith.

Size & Weight Ranges

Certified DHV 1-2 in all 5 sizes.

New Colour Schemes

The new colour scheme on the Sport3 retains the distinctive Airwave style whilst giving a clear stylish and modern look to the wing. The colour scheme works by transparency so that the colour at the back of the glider on the top surface can been seen though the white bottom surface giving the colour scheme an interesting and stylish look.

Colours: Ice; Slide; Sunset; Time

• Ice - light blue leading edge, white, blue trailing edge
• Slide - blue leading edge, white, red trailing edge
• Sunset - red leading edge, white, yellow trailing edge
• Time - red leading edge, white, gray trailing edge